Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its Kimberly-Clark stake by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 8.32 million shares worth about $836.2 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding about 76.29% of the stock; several firms, including Massachusetts Financial Services and State Street, also added to their positions.
• Kimberly-Clark reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.97 versus estimates of $1.93 and revenue of $4.16 billion versus expectations of $4.09 billion, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $1.28 per share.

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,322,198 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 65,619 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.51% of Kimberly-Clark worth $836,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 50.4% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,839,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $790,934,000 after acquiring an additional 2,628,206 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,830,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,615,382,000 after purchasing an additional 997,397 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 331.6% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,107,640 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,724,000 after purchasing an additional 851,024 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 506.1% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 758,154 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,490,000 after purchasing an additional 633,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,807,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total value of $152,162.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $797,233.08. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,096 shares of company stock valued at $689,687. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $114.93.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $97.60 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 52 week low of $92.42 and a 52 week high of $144.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $97.69 and a 200 day moving average of $101.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 152.79%. Kimberly-Clark's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.38%.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.

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